2015 Targeting Trends Review

Vazquez-DeRose J, Schwartz M, Nguyen A, Warrier D, Gulati S, Mathew T, Neylan T, Kilduff T (2016) Hypocretin/orexin antagonism enhances sleep-related adenosine and GABA neurotransmission in rat basal forebrain. Brain Struct Funct 221:923-940. doi: 10.1007/s00429-014-0946-y

Summary: The basal forebrain (BF) is one of the regions receiving excitatory input from orexin neurons. The authors investigated the hypothesis that orexin antagonists induce sleep at least in part by interfering with the facilitation of BF neurons. Rats received bilateral 500-ng injections of 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01) into the BF. Lesioned animals displayed no abnormal responses to a benzodiazepine agonist or vehicle. An orexin antagonist, however, was less effective than the control at inducing sleep in lesioned rats.

Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01)

Harasawa I, Johansen J, Fields H, Porreca F, Meng I (2016) Alterations in the rostral ventromedial medulla after the selective ablation of μ-opioid receptor expressing neurons. Pain 157:166-173. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000344

Summary: The rostral ventromedial medulla (RVM) has both excitatory and inhibitory control over nociceptive neurons in the medullary dorsal horn and spinal cord. Previous work has demonstrated that elimination of mu-opioid receptor-expressing neurons in the RVM reduces stress and injury-induced behavioral hypersensitivity, but the effect of losing these cells on the descending inhibitory system has not been examined. The authors administered 1.2 pmol of Dermorphin-SAP (Cat. #IT-12) to each side of the RVM of rats. Saporin (Cat. #PR-01) was used as a control. Characterization of RVM neurons in lesioned animals showed a reduction in on- and off-cells, but no change in the number of neutral cells. These data indicate that mu-opioid receptor-expressing cells in the RVM are not needed for analgesia produced by activation of RVM neurons.

Related Products: Dermorphin-SAP / MOR-SAP (Cat. #IT-12), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)

Helena C, Toporikova N, Kalil B, Stathopoulos A, Pogrebna V, Carolino R, Anselmo-Franci J, Bertram R (2015) KNDy neurons modulate the magnitude of the steroid-induced luteinizing hormone surges in ovariectomized rats. Endocrinology 156:4200-4213. doi: 10.1210/en.2015-1070

Summary: Maturation and reproductive function in mammals is controlled by the kisspeptin neuropeptide. Kisspeptin modulates numerous systems within this framework including the mediation of positive and negative feedback effects of estradiol on luteinizing hormone (LH). In the rat, two kisspeptin neuronal populations exist; one in the anteroventral periventricular nucleus (AVPV), and the KNDy (kisspeptin/ neurokinin B/dynorphin) neurons in the arcuate nucleus. In this work the authors examine the role of KNDy neurons in estradiol positive feedback effects by administering 10-ng bilateral injections of NK3-SAP (Cat. #IT-63) into the arcuate nucleus of rats. The results indicate that KNDy neurons use dynorphin to inhibit AVPV neurons, establishing a regulatory mechanism for the amplitude of steroid-induced LH surges.

Related Products: NKB-SAP (Cat. #IT-63)

Freiria-Oliveira A, Blanch G, Pedrino G, Cravo S, Murphy D, Menani J, Colombari D (2015) Catecholaminergic neurons in the comissural region of the nucleus of the solitary tract modulate hyperosmolality-induced responses. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 309:R1082-1091. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00432.2014

Summary: Body fluid homeostasis and cardiovascular regulation are thought to be at least in part controlled by noradrenergic A2 neurons found in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). In this work the authors investigated the involvement of A2 neurons of the commissural NTS in arterial pressure, as well as several body fluid homeostasis parameters. Rats received 12.6-ng injections of Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) into the commissural NTS. Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18) was used as a control. Lesioned animals displayed increased c-Fos expression in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus when treated with hypertonic NaCl, and increased arterial pressure. The data indicate that commissural NTS A2 neurons are essential for inhibitory mechanisms that reduce water intake and pressor response to an acute increase in plasma osmolality.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18)

Buhr E, Yue W, Ren X, Jiang Z, Liao H, Mei X, Vemaraju S, Nguyen M, Reed R, Lang R, Yau K, Van Gelder R (2015) Neuropsin (OPN5)-mediated photoentrainment of local circadian oscillators in mammalian retina and cornea. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 112:13093-13098. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1516259112 PMID: 26392540

Summary: Circadian clocks are found in most mammalian tissues. These clocks are synchronized by the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) in the brain. The local clock found in the retina does not require rods, cones, intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells, or the SCN. In order to determine what photopigments are responsible for local retinal photoentrainment, the authors used a candidate gene approach. For immunohistochemical studies on flat mount retinas they used a melanopsin antibody (Cat. #AB-N38) at a 1:1000 dilution. The data indicate that OPN5, also known as neuropsin, has a light-sensing function and is involved in retinal photoentrainment.

Related Products: Melanopsin Rabbit Polyclonal (Cat. #AB-N38)

Pires E, D’Souza R, Needham M, Herr A, Jazaeri A, Li H, Stoler M, Anderson-Knapp K, Thomas T, Mandal A, Gougeon A, Flickinger C, Bruns D, Pollok B, Herr J (2015) Membrane associated cancer-oocyte neoantigen SAS1B/ovastacin is a candidate immunotherapeutic target for uterine tumors. Oncotarget 6:30194-30211. doi: 10.18632/oncotarget.4734

Summary: Ovastatin is a zinc matrix metallo-proteinase thought to play roles in sperm-egg interaction and the prevention of polyspermy in eutherians. This protein is not found in normal adult tissues, but is expressed by uterine carcinosarcomas. The authors investigated the possibility of targeting ovastatin as a tumor surface neoantigen for therapeutic purposes. SNU539 cells, a uterine malignant mixed Müllerian tumor-derived cell line, were challenged with 1 μM, 0.1 μM, and 0.01 μM rabbit polyclonal anti-ovastatin coupled to 5.42 nM Fab-ZAP rabbit (Cat. #IT-57). Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35) was used as a control. The results indicate that for this form of uterine cancer, ovastatin is a viable therapeutic target.

Related Products: Fab-ZAP rabbit (Cat. #IT-57), Rabbit IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-35)

Cao Q, Lu J, Li Q, Wang C, Wang X, Lee V, Wang C, Nguyen H, Zheng G, Zhao Y, Alexander S, Wang Y, Harris D (2016) CD103+ dendritic cells elicit CD8+ t cell responses to accelerate kidney injury in adriamycin nephropathy. J Am Soc Nephrol 27:1344-1360. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2015030229

Summary: Although it is known that dendritic cells (DCs) are involved in chronic kidney disease, it is not well understood how they either resolve or aggravate the condition. CD103+ dendritic cells in particular, are known to maintain tolerance through interaction with regulatory T cells, as well as protect against infection through interactions with CD8+ T cells. In this work the authors depleted CD103+ DCs by administering 1 mg/kg of anti-CD103-SAP (Cat. #IT-50) to the intraperitoneal space of mice subject to adriamycin nephropathy. Rat IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-17) was used as a control. Elimination of the CD103+ DCs attenuated the kidney injury, indicating that in murine chronic kidney disease CD103+ DCs are pathogenic rather than therapeutic.

Related Products: Anti-CD103-SAP (Cat. #IT-50), Rat IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-17)

Damelin M, Bankovich A, Park A, Aguilar J, Anderson W, Santaguida M, Aujay M, Fong S, Khandke K, Pulito V, Ernstoff E, Escarpe P, Bernstein J, Pysz M, Zhong W, Upeslacis E, Lucas J, Lucas J, Nichols T, Loving K, Foord O, Hampl J, Stull R, Barletta F, Falahatpisheh H, Sapra P, Gerber H, Dylla S (2015) Anti-EFNA4 calicheamicin conjugates effectively target triple-negative breast and ovarian tumor-initiating cells to result in sustained tumor regressions. Clin Cancer Res 21:4165-4173. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-15-0695

Summary: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is characterized by tumors lacking HER2, estrogen receptor, and progesterone receptor. TNBC has proved to be very difficult to treat, in large part because of the absence of consensus targets on the surface of the tumor cells. In this work the authors empirically established a set of surface markers associated with TNBC tumor initiating cells, as produced by patient-derived xenografts. Ephrin-A4 was selected as a therapeutic target, and a cell line transfected with the ephrin-A4 gene was challenged with two versions of biotinylated anti-ephrin-A4 coupled to Streptavidin-ZAP (Cat. #IT-27). Both the mouse monoclonal and the humanized antibodies reach an EC50 of 10 ng/ml, indicating that ephrin-A4 has promise as a therapeutic target for TNBC.

Related Products: Streptavidin-ZAP (Cat. #IT-27)

Kras J, Weisshaar C, Pall P, Winkelstein B (2015) Pain from intra-articular NGF or joint injury in the rat requires contributions from peptidergic joint afferents. Neurosci Lett 604:193-198. doi: 10.1016/j.neulet.2015.07.043

Summary: Both peptidergic and non-peptidergic neurons innervate the facet joint, which is the source of pain in a majority of neck trauma. In this work the authors examined these subpopulations of neurons to determine the contribution of each in facet joint pain. 100 ng of SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11) was injected into bilateral C6/C7 facet joints of rats. Alternatively, rats received 5 μg of rIB4-SAP (Cat. #IT-10) via the same method. Saporin (Cat. #PR-01) was used as control. SSP-SAP, but not rIB4-SAP was able to prevent NGF-induced mechanical and thermal hypersensitivity. SSP-SAP administration also prevented behavioral hypersensitivity and NGF upregulation in the dorsal root ganglion after facet joint distraction. The data indicate that interference with peptidergic signaling within the facet joint may be a treatment for pain originating in that location.

Related Products: SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11), IB4-SAP (Cat. #IT-10), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)

Saeed A, Pawlowski S, Ribeiro-da-Silva A (2015) Limited changes in spinal lamina I dorsal horn neurons following the cytotoxic ablation of non-peptidergic C-fibers. Mol Pain 11:54. doi: 10.1186/s12990-015-0060-z

Summary: For the most part nociceptive information is moved from the periphery to the spinal cord through small diameter primary afferents. One subclass of these afferents is further divided into peptidergic and non-peptidergic populations. The authors examined the role of the non-peptidergic afferents in normal nociception and pain, especially the aspect that in rat neuropathic and inflammatory pain models there is novel expression of neurokinin-1 receptors in some neurons normally devoid of this protein. Rats received 4.8-μg injections of rIB4-SAP (Cat. #IT-10) into the left sciatic nerve, over three injection sites. While the number of non-peptidergic neurons was significantly reduced, de novo expression of the neurokinin-1 receptor was not increased in lamina I pyramidal projection neurons.

Related Products: IB4-SAP (Cat. #IT-10)

Murray R, Logan M, Horner K (2015) Striatal patch compartment lesions reduce stereotypy following repeated cocaine administration. Brain Res 1618:286-298. doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2015.06.012

Summary: Stereotypy is defined as abnormally repetitive motor movements accompanied by an inability to initiate normal adaptive responses. Psychostimulants such as cocaine will often produce these movements. It is thought that stereotypy is related to activation of the patch compartment of the striatum. In order to better understand the function of the patch compartment in stereotypy due to repeated exposure to cocaine, the authors administered bilateral injections of Dermorphin-SAP (Cat. #IT-12) into the rostral striatum. Saporin (Cat. #PR-01) was used as a control.

Related Products: Dermorphin-SAP / MOR-SAP (Cat. #IT-12), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)

Li A, Wang Q, Davis H, Wang R, Ritter S (2015) Orexin-A enhances feeding in male rats by activating hindbrain catecholamine neurons. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 309:R358-367. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00065.2015

Summary: Although administration of orexin, norepinephrine, and epinephrine all induce significantly increased food intake, the potential interaction between the networks affected by these molecules has not been studied. In this work, the authors investigate the hypothesis that orexin neurons may stimulate feeding through the activation of catecholamine neurons. Rats received 82-ng injections of Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) into the hypothalamus in order to lesion hypothalamically-projecting catecholamine neurons. Saporin (Cat. #PR-01) was used as a control. While the normal response to orexin A is increased food intake, lesioned animals did not display this response, indicating that catecholamine neurons are necessary for orexin modulation of food intake.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Saporin (Cat. #PR-01)

McHugh S, Francis A, McAuley J, Stewart A, Baxter M, Bannerman D (2015) Hippocampal acetylcholine depletion has no effect on anxiety, spatial novelty preference, or differential reward for low rates of responding (DRL) performance in rats. Behav Neurosci 129:491-501. doi: 10.1037/bne0000072

Summary: It is unclear whether cholinergic lesions in the hippocampus affect both learning and behavior, or learning only. In this study the authors lesioned cholinergic neurons in the medial septum/vertical limb of the diagonal band of Broca of rats with bilateral 30-ng injections of 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01). Although hippocampal cholinergic innervations were significantly reduced, with a concomitant reduction in choline acetyltransferase activity, the lesioned animals did not perform differently in several behavioral tests. The data do not provide evidence that the septo-hippocampal cholingeric projections play a role in anxiety, spatial novelty preference, or differential reward for low rates of responding tests.

Related Products: 192-IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-01)

Li J, Pan Y, Zhang B, Chen Q (2015) Macrophages are needed in the progression of tuberculosis into lung cancer. Tumour Biol 36:6063-6066. doi: 10.1007/s13277-015-3283-8

Summary: Approximately 30% of lung carcinomas also have tuberculosis lesions. The authors investigated the potential link between inflammatory processes and cancer in the lung. Mice with established tuberculosis infections received weekly 20 μg tail vein injections of Mac-1-SAP (Cat. #IT-06) in order to eliminate macrophages. Six months later the mice receiving Mac-1-SAP had a significantly lower incidence of lung carcinoma than control animals.

Related Products: Mac-1-SAP mouse/human (Cat. #IT-06)

Xing D, Wu Y, Li G, Song S, Liu Y, Liu H, Wang X, Fei Y, Zhang C, Li Y, Zhang L (2015) Role of cerebrospinal fluid-contacting nucleus in sodium sensing and sodium appetite. Physiol Behav 147:291-299. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.04.034

Summary: Sodium concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is tightly regulated, and this regulation requires numerous sensors spread throughout the brain. Here the authors injected 900 ng CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14) into the lateral ventricles. Investigation of spontaneous and induced sodium intake indicates the CSF-contacting nucleus is an important link in the sodium sensing network, and interacts with the lateral parabrachial nucleus.

Related Products: CTB-SAP (Cat. #IT-14)

Oyamaguchi A, Abe T, Sugiyo S, Niwa H, Takemura M (2016) Selective elimination of isolectin B4-binding trigeminal neurons enhanced formalin-induced nocifensive behavior in the upper lip of rats and c-Fos expression in the trigeminal subnucleus caudalis. Neurosci Res 103:40-47. doi: 10.1016/j.neures.2015.07.007

Summary: In adult rats non-peptidergic neurons and peptidergic neurons innervate different areas and layers of the lamina. It is thought that these two neuronal populations play different roles in nociceptive processing, but the specific function of each group is not well understood. In order to investigate peptidergic and non-peptidergic neurons in orofacial pain processing the authors injected the cisterna magna of rats with 2.9 μg of rIB4-SAP (Cat. #IT-10). Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21) was used as a control. The lesioned animals displayed more frequent face-rubbing responses on the administration of formalin, indicating that IB4-binding neurons in the trigeminal nerve play an anti-nociceptive role in response to this type of pain.

Related Products: IB4-SAP (Cat. #IT-10), Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21)

King T, Ruyle B, Kline D, Heesch C, Hasser E (2015) Catecholaminergic neurons projecting to the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus are essential for cardiorespiratory adjustments to hypoxia. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 309:R721-731. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.00540.2014

Summary: Catecholaminergic neurons in the brainstem are known to be involved in cardiorespiratory control and to modulate sensory function. Some of the projections from these neurons are to the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), and are involved in cardiorespiratory and neuroendocrine responses to hypoxia. While data have shown the PVN-projecting neurons are activated by hypoxia, their function in this context is not known. In this work the authors bilaterally injected 42 ng of Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) into the PVN of rats. Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18) was used as control. Respiratory measurements of the lesioned animals indicates that PVN-projecting catecholaminergic neurons are involved in peripheral and central chemoreflex and arterial oxygen levels during exposure to hypoxic stimuli.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18)

Akiyama T, Nguyen T, Curtis E, Nishida K, Devireddy J, Delahanty J, Carstens M, Carstens E (2015) A central role for spinal dorsal horn neurons that express neurokinin-1 receptors in chronic itch. Pain 156:1240-1246. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000000172

Summary: Chronic itch is caused by increased sensitivity of itch-signaling pathways. It can be generated by normally itchy stimuli (hyperknesis) and by normally non-itchy light touch (alloknesis). The authors used an ovalbumin-induced atopic dermatitis model to study chronic itch in mice. The mice received 400-ng intrathecal injections of Bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40), SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11), or the control Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21). While Bombesin-SAP significantly attenuated hyperknesis, it had no effect on spontaneous scratching or alloknesis. SSP-SAP reduced all behavioral signs of chronic itch.

Related Products: Bombesin-SAP (Cat. #IT-40), SSP-SAP (Cat. #IT-11), Blank-SAP (Cat. #IT-21)

Bourassa E, Stedenfeld K, Sved A, Speth R (2015) Selective C1 lesioning slightly decreases angiotensin II type I receptor expression in the rat rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). Neurochem Res 40:2113-2120. doi: 10.1007/s11064-015-1649-3

Summary: Exogenous angiotensin II administered to the RVLM produces a significant pressor response that can be countered by angiotensin II type I receptor antagonists. In this work the authors examined the relative contribution of C1 and non-C1 neurons in the RVLM to this angiotensin II response. Rats received 10 or 15 ng of Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03) as unilateral injections into the RVLM. Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18) was used as control. The data indicate that the majority of angiotensin II type 1 receptors are expressed on non-C1 neurons or glia.

Related Products: Anti-DBH-SAP (Cat. #IT-03), Mouse IgG-SAP (Cat. #IT-18)

Chua J, Vankemmelbeke M, McIntosh R, Clarke P, Moss R, Parsons T, Spendlove I, Zaitoun A, Madhusudan S, Durrant L (2015) Monoclonal antibodies targeting LecLex-related glycans with potent antitumor activity. Clin Cancer Res 21:2963-2974. doi: 10.1158/1078-0432.CCR-14-3030

Summary: In this work the authors characterized two monoclonal antibodies that target glycans containing Lewis carbohydrate antigens. One of the methods used was to combine varying concentrations of the antibodies with 50 ng mouse Fab-ZAP (Cat. #IT-48) and apply the conjugates to cells for 72 hours. The antibodies were demonstrated to have efficient internalization, supported by potent in vivo anti-tumor activity.

Related Products: Fab-ZAP mouse (Cat. #IT-48)